Layla Moran

The Government is clear that equality and opportunity for all are at the heart of our programme of national renewal and every Mission. This includes actively considering the needs of older women and ensuring that they are not discriminated against. The Equality Act 2010 contains strong protections for older women in a variety of settings, including work and the provision of services. The Act prohibits discrimination because of age and harassment related to age. In addition, the Employment Rights Bill will introduce robust measures to further safeguard working women, including gender pay gap and menopause action plans.

The Government recognises the challenges some older women can face and is committed to ensuring that support systems are in place These include improving older people’s participation online through the new Digital Inclusion Action plan, employment support through Jobcentres, and addressing healthcare inequality in the 10 Year Health Plan, to ensure the NHS is there for anyone who needs it, whenever they need it.

The Victims and Prisoners Act 2024 required the Government to lay regulations to establish the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme within three months of the passing of the Act. On 23 August, we laid regulations that will give the Infected Blood Compensation Authority the powers necessary to pay compensation through the core route to the infected, both living and deceased. The Government expects the Infected Blood Compensation Authority to begin making payments to people who are infected under the Infected Blood Compensation Scheme by the end of this year. Payments to the affected are expected to begin in 2025, following a second set of regulations. Regarding other provisions of the Act, applications for interim payments of £100,000 to the estates of deceased people, whose deaths have not yet been recognised by a previous interim payment, will open in October. The Government takes its responsibilities under the Victims and Prisoners Act seriously and is doing everything possible to deliver compensation in a timely manner.

Regulation is clear that cosmetics must be safe. To demonstrate compliance, a safety assessment must be completed by a qualified safety assessor.

Government intends to perform sector reviews of product regulation that will consider hazards that may impact consumer safety. To ensure that regulations reflects modern supply chains we recently introduced the Product Regulation and Metrology Bill enabling government to create a proportionate regulatory framework that will protect UK consumers from risk.

Thank you to the Hon. Member for raising this topic. This Government is committed to delivering the Plan to Make Work Pay in full and updating Britain’s employment protections, so they are fit for our modern economy and the future of work. This includes strengthening protections from sexual harassment and harassment in the workplace. Ministers are identifying the most appropriate delivery mechanisms for the commitments in the Plan, including an Employment Rights Bill that will be introduced to Parliament within 100 days of taking office.

The Department's Heat Networks Team is in regular dialogue with Oxford City Council about their role in Heat Network Zoning and the Oxford Energy Network project. We provided technical support through the early release of our National Zoning Model work and offer commercial support with best practice guidance and templates and signposting to similar Local Authorities. This aims to ensure the private-led heat network benefits Oxford's residents and businesses.

1Energy was awarded capital funding of over £21.956m from the Green Heat Network Fund for the Oxford City project. The fund is delivered by an external partner, Triple Point Heat Network Investment Management, who have regular contact with 1Energy on the progress of the project.

Our assessment of the potential impact of low-carbon heat networks includes monetised air quality benefits based on Green Book (Table 15) fuel consumption standards[1]. Our published consultation stage Zoning Impact Assessment estimated the value of those benefits at between £50m and £270m (2020 prices, 2024 base year) over 40 years. This range includes the health benefits of both reduced NOx and reduced particulate matter.

We are working with Defra to ensure heat network zoning policy contributes to the UK’s wider air quality goals - supporting cleaner air and better public health.

[1] https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/valuation-of-energy-use-and-greenhouse-gas-emissions-for-appraisal - Table 15

The Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides grants to encourage property owners to replace existing fossil fuel heating with more efficient, low carbon heating systems. Heat pumps are the primary supported technology under the scheme. It does not provide financial support for the connection costs for connecting to heat networks or internal heat interface units.

Significant funding to develop new and existing low carbon heat networks across England is provided through the Green Heat Network Fund, which has announced over £506 million in grant awards to date. The Government’s Warm Homes Plan will provide further detail on the support available to help property owners transition to cleaner, low carbon heating.

The Warm Homes Plan will help households and businesses make the switch to clean heat and save money on their bills. Heat networks can offer low-cost, low-carbon heat, and reduce everyone’s bills by using surplus heat that would otherwise be wasted.

The Government is investing £13.2bn in the Warm Homes Plan over the Spending Review period (up to 2029/30). Further detail on the Warm Homes Plan, including deployment targets and funding to deliver heat network schemes, will be set out by October.

The Oxford City heat network, which is being taken forward by 1Energy with support from the Green Heat Network Fund, aims to connect many of the city's historic buildings together. The Department will be monitoring the progress of the project, which is expected to provide many lessons for future heat network development in areas of significant built heritage.

The UK offers ambitious funding for international talent through prestigious fellowships and professorships from UKRI and the National Academies. Our competitive immigration offer, including fast-track visa routes like the Global Talent visa, facilitates high-skilled migration in key sectors, ensuring that universities like the University of Oxford benefit from global talent.

The government recognises the vital role of international specialists in the UK’s Life Sciences sector and supports the Oxford biotech cluster through initiatives like the Global Talent Network, which attracts talented individuals worldwide. In addition, DSIT is collaborating with stakeholders to unlock the Oxford-Cambridge Corridor's potential for growth, investment, and job creation.

While the Online Safety Act (OSA) requires Ofcom to establish an advisory committee on disinformation and misinformation, the process and timing of setting it up remains at Ofcom’s discretion.

Ofcom has confirmed that the Mis/Disinformation Advisory Committee will be established by the end of 2024. It will play an essential role in building understanding and technical knowledge of the challenges relating to mis- and disinformation and how best to tackle them. As such, it is vital that Ofcom has the appropriate time to appoint the best possible committee.

The department takes the safety of children, and those who work with them, incredibly seriously which is why we expect all local authorities, governing bodies and academy trusts as responsible bodies to have robust plans in place to manage asbestos in school buildings effectively, in line with their legal duties, drawing on appropriate professional advice.

As the regulator for asbestos, the Health and Safety Executive (HSE) undertook inspections of a number of schools across the UK between September 2022 and April 2023 to look at compliance under the Control of Asbestos Regulations 2012. The inspections showed that most schools were complying with the legal duties, and effective management systems are in place to manage and monitor the condition of asbestos-contained materials onsite.

The department is collecting data on the condition of school buildings in England as part of the Condition Data Collection 2 (CDC2) programme. To date, we have visited 18,029 schools and 13,592 (75.4%) have reported they have asbestos. The department follows the advice of the HSE as regulator that, as long as asbestos-containing materials are undamaged, and not in locations where they are vulnerable to damage, they should be left undisturbed, and their condition monitored.

The department has been clear, however, that when asbestos does pose a risk to safety and cannot be effectively managed in place, it should be removed. The decision to remove asbestos should be considered on a case-by-case basis and, annual condition funding provided by the department can be used for this purpose.

As part of the 2025/26 budget, we have increased capital allocations to improve the condition of school buildings to £2.1 billion, which represents £300 million more than this financial year. This is on top of the School Rebuilding Programme and targeted support for reinforced autoclaved aerated concrete.

Ofsted is an independent non-ministerial government department and, as such, we are unable to comment on its processes or on specific issues. The department has responsibility for policy on inspection and registration, but how it is implemented is for Ofsted to decide and to be held to account by Parliament. The department will therefore not be publishing a timeline for implementation of findings in ‘Best Start in Life part 3: the 4 specific areas of learning’, nor were there any particular recommendations made by Ofsted for it to implement. The reviews published by Ofsted are publicly available on GOV.UK and are primarily intended to help early years practitioners to raise the quality of early years education.

This government is determined to ensure all young people have high quality education and training pathways post-16. To help secure this, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that the department would pause and review the defunding of qualifications in July 2024. The department will conclude and communicate the outcomes of this internal review of post-16 qualifications, before Christmas 2024.

The focused review announced in July is already underway and the department is working as quickly as possible to provide certainty to the sector. The review will look at the defunding lists that have been published and communicate any changes. Colleges will be able to reflect the outcomes of the review in their planning and marketing materials in the new year so that students can make the best decisions about their futures.

There are many qualifications not subject to defunding and which provide certainty and continuity to the sector. These include A levels, T Levels, and alternative qualifications in subjects and routes not affected by defunding.

This government is determined to ensure all young people have high quality education and training pathways post-16. To help secure this, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that the department would pause and review the defunding of qualifications in July 2024. The department will conclude and communicate the outcomes of this internal review of post-16 qualifications, before Christmas 2024.

The focused review announced in July is already underway and the department is working as quickly as possible to provide certainty to the sector. The review will look at the defunding lists that have been published and communicate any changes. Colleges will be able to reflect the outcomes of the review in their planning and marketing materials in the new year so that students can make the best decisions about their futures.

There are many qualifications not subject to defunding and which provide certainty and continuity to the sector. These include A levels, T Levels, and alternative qualifications in subjects and routes not affected by defunding.

This government is determined to ensure all young people have high quality education and training pathways post-16. To help secure this, my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Education, announced that the department would pause and review the defunding of qualifications in July 2024. The department will conclude and communicate the outcomes of this internal review of post-16 qualifications, before Christmas 2024.

The focused review announced in July is already underway and the department is working as quickly as possible to provide certainty to the sector. The review will look at the defunding lists that have been published and communicate any changes. Colleges will be able to reflect the outcomes of the review in their planning and marketing materials in the new year so that students can make the best decisions about their futures.

There are many qualifications not subject to defunding and which provide certainty and continuity to the sector. These include A levels, T Levels, and alternative qualifications in subjects and routes not affected by defunding.

Flood defences are critical to the protection of life and property and the effective functioning of the economy. Resilience and adaptation to the changing climate provide economic resilience and are key to supporting the government’s mission to kickstart economic growth.

The Environment Agency gathers data on how flooding affects the economy. The economic losses from the winter 2019 to 2020 flooding are estimated to be about £333 million. However, the economic damage avoided because of the protection provided is at least 14 times greater, at around £4.6 billion to £9.3 billion.

Around 36% of the damages caused by floods are to publicly owned infrastructure like roads, railways, schools and hospitals.

The Property Flood Resilience (PFR) grant scheme can provide up to £5000 for eligible households and businesses to install PFR measures. The PFR grant scheme is typically activated alongside the Flood Recovery Framework (FRF) coordinated by MHCLG and only activated where there is large scale and widespread flooding. With localised flooding incidents, we expect Local Authorities to have well established contingency arrangements in place and to be able to respond and support their local communities within existing budgets. Below that local authorities provide support as needed. The flooding in November was not at the scale where we would expect to open FRF and PFR schemes.

To ensure we protect the country from the devastating impacts of flooding, we will invest £2.4 billion in 2024/25 and 2025/26 to improve flood resilience, by building, maintaining, and repairing flood defences.

Included in this programme, the Environment Agency is working proactively with local authorities to deliver Property Flood Resilience (PFR) projects, where it is cost beneficial to do so, in areas where PFR is the best solution for reducing flood risk. The EA’s PFR programme is focused on reducing risk to those households and businesses at the highest risk.

The UK welcomed the creation of the Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders under the Aarhus Convention.

The Government is considering the issues raised in the Special Rapporteur's recent letters, in the context of the UK's obligations under the Aarhus Convention.

We will respond in due course.

The SAF Bill was introduced on Wednesday 14th May in the House of Commons, with legislative measures to implement an industry-funded revenue certainty mechanism to support SAF production in the UK.

The Bill confirms the government’s position that any funding required should come from a levy on aviation fuel suppliers.

Further work is required to design the allocation process for the revenue certainty mechanism. This will include greater detail regarding the size and timings of the contracts, as well as parameters around pricing. We will maintain a close and ongoing dialogue with industry on options for achieving cost control within the revenue certainty mechanism.

Network Rail consulted the Environment Agency on its Environmental Impact Assessment as part of the planning approval process for the Oxford Rail Station Phase 2 project.

The Department is carefully considering the responses to the consultation, and will make an announcement on the way forward as soon as possible.

The safety of our roads is an absolute priority for this Government. We are committed to delivering a new Road Safety Strategy – the first in over a decade. We will set out next steps on this in due course.

The Minister of State for Rail, Lord Hendy of Richmond Hill, and senior officials from my Department are having regular discussions with Network Rail (NR) to press them for a credible delivery plan for the completion of the Oxford station project and Botley Road bridge.

Lord Hendy has written to you and other stakeholders with details of improvements being made to alleviate the effects of the bridge closure. He and the Chief Executive of NR will come to meet you, and other stakeholders, as soon as NR are certain of the delivery plan.